The Anti-Defamation League awarded its highest honor to former President George W. Bush.

The ADL presented its America’s Democratic Legacy Award to the former president during its during a Thursday night gala dinner that opened the League’s National Executive Committee Meeting in Palm Beach, Fla.

“We will never forget, Mr. President, how the vision you laid out of ‘two states, living side by side, in peace and security’ still informs our consciousness and our parlance today,” said the ADL’s national director, Abraham Foxman.

“You solidified an unbreakable affinity between two democracies challenged by extremists and terrorists – and an ironclad shared understanding– that security is one of the most important foundations for peace.”

Foxman also cited Bush’s support for immigration reform and leadership during the terrorist attacks on September 1, 2001.

“When you were called on to respond to unspeakable terror, hate and violence, you refused to let America give into stereotypes,” Foxman said. “You answered calls for anti-Muslim revenge with calls for respect and understanding.”

Bush spoke at the dinner, which was held at The Breakers resort and closed to the press.

Previous recipients of the award, which the ADL has been giving out for more than half a century, have included American presidents as well as other government, business, literary and religious figures.

To get the latest from HaaretzFollow @HaaretzomLike us on Facebook and get articles directly in your news feed

Iraq was to be the first step to establish peace in the middle-East on
Israel's terms. The idea was to take out a minor enemy of Israel and
then have a base to confront Israel's major enemy, Iran. However, the
policy was a failure, we now have Iraq friendly with Iran. Did Bush
attack Iraq because of his Christian beliefs or because of the Israel
lobby?

That is why we went to war and killed off 4,700 American kids while
wounding 50,000 more, not to mention the death and destruction that
daddy's boy inflicted on Iraq with whom we had no legitimate beef
warranting all out war.

it's part of the whole narrative of this lengthy struggle in bringing
reconciliation to a region which has only been known during our
lifetimes as being volatile. One has to recognize President Bush's
courageous act in attempting to bring peace between the Palestinians and
Israel. Of course, there were background organizations who supported
his efforts, like the Simon Weisenthal Centre who steered him into
making that effort, and I'd like to take some credit too, but that's for
the future because everyone knows peace will only come through the Oval Office!